Interview Subject: Jeannie Vantrease, sister
During the interview and just by talking to my sister, Jeannie, themes such as femininity, gender, and subjects such as the male gaze came out of our talk. I found it really interesting how easily the conversation flowed once we started talking about the pieces that she owned and why she loved or hated wearing something in particular.
I noticed that Jeannie tends to wear a lot of neutral toned clothing yet she owned a wide variety of clothing that she held on to even though she wasn’t actively wearing it. In the reading, Why Women Wear What they Wear, Sophie Woodward explains how “Within the wardrobe, many items are rarely – if ever worn – as they be items that women used to wear but no longer have the lifestyle or the body to wear them” (page 49, paragraph 1). I think that this quote is extremely relevant to the wardrobes of women like Jeannie and myself who like to keep things for the memory of it but not necessarily wear it.
In terms of subject position, I’d say we are almost exactly the same in terms of where we come from and how we chose to identify except that I live on my own and she still lives with our parents in Florida. In terms of the way that we dress, we are almost totally opposites. This may have to with the climates we are living in but also our aesthetic choices vary as well. She likes wearing light and airy comfortable clothing while I like to dress a bit more reserved; long sleeves and pants and I would prefer to wear sweaters and more layers.
In reflection of the interview, I’d say my perspective on Jeannie’s daily dress definitely changed. There’s basically a reason why people wear everything. Whether they like it, have to wear it for comfort, or just wear what fits them. A lot of my clothing from the summer time doesn’t fit me right now because our bodies change. This draws back to the Sophie Woodward quote about how some items in the closet of women are hardly or rarely worn. Sometimes the relationship between clothing and the body is temporary and things don’t last you even if the actual garment remains. In these instances, I like to give my clothing to my sisters because I like to hold out hope that my relationship with a certain garment will one day resume.
I also think that the importance of the relationship between one’s body and clothing can vary based on the person you ask. Some people hold value over clothing more than others; in Jeannie’s case, she doesn’t hold as much value on her clothing as she does on things like objects. She holds a lot of importance over her books, music, and memorabilia.
Works Cited
Woodward, Sophie. “Why Women Wear What They Wear.” Materializing Culture, 2007. Accessed March 12, 2019. doi:10.2752/9781847883483.
